Engelbert Humperdinck comes 'Calling' to Stamford Palace

Christina Hennessy

Published 4:19 pm, Tuesday, April 1, 2014

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Engelbert Humperdinck, seen here with Gene Simmons of KISS, recently celebrated the release of his first album of duets, which includes a collaboration with Simmons. Humperdinck will be on his own, however, when he makes his way to Stamford, Conn., on Wednesday, April 9, 2014, for a 7:30 p.m. show. Contributed photo/Jennifer Cawley less

Engelbert Humperdinck, seen here with Gene Simmons of KISS, recently celebrated the release of his first album of duets, which includes a collaboration with Simmons. Humperdinck will be on his own, however, ... more

Photo: Contributed Photo

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Grammy-nominated singer and performer Engelbert Humperdinck will take to the stage at the Palace Theatre in Stamford, Conn., on Wednesday, April 9, 2014. Contributed photo/Craig X Sotres

Grammy-nominated singer and performer Engelbert Humperdinck will take to the stage at the Palace Theatre in Stamford, Conn., on Wednesday, April 9, 2014. Contributed photo/Craig X Sotres

Photo: Contributed Photo

Engelbert Humperdinck comes 'Calling' to Stamford Palace

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As a young man in England in the 1960s, Arnold George Dorsey had some options and a few dreams he could have pursued. He might have become a bandleader, or built a successful career with the British Army. Instead, he adopted the name of a 19th-century German composer and began to record a string of romantic ballads, including "Release Me" and "After the Lovin,' " that would put him at the top of the charts.

Engelbert Humperdinck has not looked back since. With 63 gold and 24 platinum records, and more than 150 million records sold, this celebrated 77-year-old performer shows little signs of slowing down. He will be at the Stamford Palace Theatre on Wednesday, April 9.

Here are excerpts from a recent email interview:

Q: "Engelbert Calling," your first duets album, came out recently. Was this one of those projects that you have always wanted to do?

A: Absolutely ... and the dream has changed as the years and decades have passed. Some of the artists have always been on my wish list and some have only in recent years made it onto my iPod playlist, which is constantly blasting next to my easy chair ... when I have time to sit there!

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Q: What drew you to these artists and why did you want to collaborate with them?

A: That's a long story, as we have so many great artists on the project ... 20 plus two special guest spots. My son and manager has been the one with the endless canary yellow note pads (we're old school) containing dream duets, song choices, schedules, last-minute changes and keeping the vision eclectic and organic and surprising.

Q: Would you ever revisit this format with a new list of performers?

A: I'm excited to say that due to overwhelming response during the recording of this project, "Engelbert Redialed" is already in the pipeline.

Q: You seem to be an artist who is not content to rest on your laurels. Is that an integral part of your creative nature or is that something that has evolved as you have progressed in your career?

A: That is a great way of posing the question that I think is an important one to answer. I will say this to young people, 'til the good Lord calls me ... never rest on your laurels ... it's the moving forward that moves you forward and keeps you front and center. If you rest too long and stop climbing the ladder or look down to see who's chasing you or how far you've come, you can get complacent or wobbly and you might just fall. Stay determined and stay creative. If music is your life's blood, you've got to keep it pumping! Having said all that, I keep a lot of scrapbooks to look back on my journey and relive the creative process through pictures. I just don't have very much time to go through them yet.

Q: Early on you decided to pursue a singing career, rather than a career as a musician. What prompted the shift?

A: Applause was the defining and deciding moment. I loved my sax and worked hard on my paper route through wind, rain and snow to pay for my lessons. It was on a night out with my brother where I took a pint-size shot of British courage in the form of a beer and sang, "Your eyes are the eyes of a woman in love" with the band. I was running on pure fear, adrenaline, dreams and that one glass of beer. The smoke in the room only cleared when I heard the roar of approval from the hard working tough crowd and finally saw them standing with their hands above their heads clapping. My brother said I turned bright red ... but that was my green light. I had my new instrument and it didn't need a case ... just some courage. I still love to hear that sax blow but I leave it to a pro and play the pennywhistle instead ... just like my dad used to do when I was a kid.

Q: You are known for songs about love and romance. Did you naturally gravitate toward these themes?

A: Love songs are where my voice and my heart belong. I'm all about painting pictures with words and melodies. I was so lucky to have had some of the greatest writers create magic on paper and I made it my mission to do those songs justice. So many of the hits were love songs, so now I get to weave them all together to always have a full and ever-changing set list for the show with some surprising tempos and stories in between.